A Look at PCR Tests

PCR Tests

As of right now, PCR testing is one of the dominant ways that global healthcare systems are testing citizens for Covid-19. In full, PCR stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction, and it is a technique that has proven to be effective when it comes to screening for this deadly disease.

Over the course of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of reliable and accessible testing to screen for the disease has become increasingly apparent. In South Korea, where the tests for this disease were made promptly as well as readily available when the outbreak first hit, has had a drastically lower death rate compared to other counties has have responded less promptly. Out of over 10,000 Covid-19 recorded cases in South Korea, there have been only 174 fatalities compared to 2,921 deaths in the United Kingdom out of nearly 34,000 recorded cases.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the country can test over 20,000 people every day at 633 testing sites nationwide. The test sites, many of which are drive-throughs, have been free to use, and the results are provided by text within twenty four hours. Most of the tests for Covid-19 can be divided into PCR tests or serologic tests, both which use different kinds of samples to search for different hallmarks of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and neither of them have been prove to be exactly perfect.

So, what exactly are PCR tests? These tests are used to directly detect the presence of an antigen, rather than relying on the presence of the body’s immune response, or antibodies. They detect viral RNA which will be present in the body before antibodies form or symptoms of the disease start showing, meaning that they can tell whether or not someone has the Covid-19 virus very early on.

For more information on PCR tests, visit our website at https://www.harleymedic.co.uk/